Ranger: My beloved spotted Papi

My nominated emPAWyee of the month is Ranger, a beloved spotted dog who has the most human eyes I've ever seen. He brightens up my day just by being around and his day is even more luminous when he's surrounded by humans. Now before we get to explaining our relationship, I think it might be best to give you the rundown of what my office situation is like.

Most of the time I prefer to move my office outdoors to the backyard that I share with abuela (which is Spanish for grandma). Abuela is my neighbor, her name is Gloria and is not my blood-related grandmother but nonetheless, she has been adopted. It does rain more than I would like it to, in South Florida, so sometimes I have to stay indoors. On bright sunny days, I work on paintings, cut plywood, draw on my tablet or write while work on getting a tan.

Oh that's right, I forgot to mention that I'm a visual artist first and writer second. My practice is growing in the sense that, what I write also informs the painted work and the full experience of my art is the painting coupled with the writing. There are times where museums or other art related jobs need my help and skillset so when those moments happen I have to step away from the office, in order to get the job done. Ranger usually joins me outside while I'm painting, writing or drawing.

There are moments when I start to hit a creative block and that's the perfect time to either dance with abuela or go on a run with Ranger. He loves running with me and to be honest, he's got way too much energy for abuela's legs. Not to say that she's short on energy, abuela works two jobs. She works in the day as a nanny for a girl named Persephone who was born with an impaired eye. At night time, she takes care of an elderly person and abuela only ever seems to get very minute sleep during the afternoon. Even after all that work, she is more than happy to cook for the both of us. I've offered to cook several times, but she prefers to do it because she loves to cook for her family.

Almost every morning that I don't have to step out of my home-office for a different job, abuela cooks breakfast and we eat together while looking at her beautiful, curated garden. She speaks Spanish and barely any English, so I communicate with her through Google translate (which is also helping me learn the language at a quicker pace). Usually after breakfast, she needs help with moving things, assembling furniture or cleaning her house. Which I'm super happy to do, this gives me an opportunity to be the best grandson that I can be.

The universe seems to have blessed me with another grandmother. My blood related grandmother passed away recently in 2020, there was a shortage of oxygen support because of the amount of covid-19 cases. Before her peaceful rest, she told me how lucky she was to have such a sweet grandson. All that went through my head was how I've done or said some not-too-sweet things that year and how I did a bad job as a grandson because I was not present enough, in her final moments. Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on myself but, I cannot help but feel that way. Being present in my new grandmother's life has been an active part of healing that trauma. Our time with our elder's is short, so I will make sure that every moment counts.

Her family has really taken me in as a member of their own and boy, does abuela like to party. It seems to be that every weekend the whole family parties and teaches me how to dance salsa. I've spent a lot of time setting up events for an old beloved job of mine. Bringing that skillset home: I make sure to put up the tables for drinks and food, gazebo for the sudden spurts of rain, chairs for the gathering and whatever else abuela needs me to move. Not only is it fun to spend time with my newly adopted family but, this also helps with inspiration for a new painting or writing or both at the same time!

Now, I don't mean to stray too far away from the topic at hand but I find it important to speak about these moments to give you a visualization of abuela's personality. She really is one of the sweetest ladies I've ever met and she's at her happiest when she takes care of others.

Getting back to our emPAWyee of the month; Ranger, was rescued by abuela from an animal shelter. Before that shelter, his previous owner took the life of his sister right in front of him. Our poor beloved Ranger, has been traumatized and experiences the trauma constantly when no one is around him.

When he goes through those shocking experiences he gets in a fit and sometimes tears up some of the furniture in abuela's house (which is why I'm constantly assembling furniture for her). Now I know that is not the best habit for an emPAWyee of the month but I believe in giving the benefit of the doubt. He is always saying "Hello" to us in the most loving ways and nothing makes him more happy to be by our side. Whenever my furry coworker/papi says hello he wags his tail at a speed so high it shakes his whole butt.

Ranger gives the sweetest kisses and makes the funniest expressions when he knows he is in trouble. There are moments when abuela finds out he chewed a sandal up; he immediately sinks his head and hides underneath my chair. Of course, abuela would get mad but Ranger knows how safe he is with his mama. Ranger is also very vocal and expressive; he lets out beautiful, bellowing howls as a gesture of saying "Good Morning," when it's breakfast time. Nothing is funnier than when a 45 pound dog leaps in your lap as if he's a 6 pound kid and bombards you with face-licks. Looking into his eyes, all you can feel is the sweetness in his soul.

Abuela calls Ranger her son, so that makes him my Padre or Papi (which is Spanish for father). When I spend time with him or take my papi for a run, it is also a way to help heal his trauma. A very special, beloved old man that I know has many sayings and one of them goes: "The dog goes Up, Up, Up! So together we go Up, Up, Up!" I believe this saying is being applied to our lives right now, because together we are healing each other's traumas. I moved to this apartment about 5 months ago and I already feel like I have acquired a family that loves to be around each other. All in all, this is why I give thanks and would like to take this narrative as a token of gratitude/appreciation towards Ranger. My furry spotted coworker with the most human-looking eyes. Nothing brightens up my day more than seeing those spots and spending time with abuela.